Dr. Jacinta Walsh

Lecturer, Monash Indigenous Studies Centre

Dr. Jacinta Walsh is a distinguished Yawuru, Jaru, and Kitja woman from Western Australia, with Irish and English ancestry, whose work bridges academia, advocacy, and creative expression. A mother of three, she is a Lecturer and Indigenous Research Fellow at the Monash Indigenous Studies Centre. Her research focuses on Indigenous family histories, truth-telling, and reconciliation, and First Nations youth experiences of juvenile justice and out-of-home care systems. An adoptee herself, Jacinta is deeply committed to ensuring First Nations families have access to historical archives that preserve generational memory. Her PhD thesis chronicles seven generations of her family's culture and experiences of colonisation, emphasising the enduring strength of ancestral love. Recognised for her contributions, she has received numerous prestigious awards, including the 2024 Monash Indigenous Higher Degree Research Excellence Award.

Can you explain a bit about your role at Monash University?

I have been connected with Monash University for over 20 years, beginning my career in Indigenous student support and recruitment. After earning a Bachelor of Education, I worked in Aboriginal student support at Melbourne University, Swinburne, and Monash. In 2004, I took a break to focus on raising my family.

In 2018, I returned to Monash as a Research Officer through my connection with Sir John Monash Distinguished Professor Lynette Russell AM, at the Monash Indigenous Studies Centre. I also began my PhD, which explored my ancestors’ stories on Jaru, Kitja, and Yawuru Country. My research uncovered 60 years of my great-grandmother’s life under the Aborigines Act of 1905 in Western Australia, highlighting the significance of family reunification, knowledge, and narrative repatriation, Country as an archive, and access to family oral history and historical textual records.

Having completed my PhD, I now enjoy my new role as an Indigenous Research Fellow and Lecturer in Indigenous Studies, teaching and co-ordinating the 'The Indigenous history of modern Australia' unit in the Faculty of Arts. I am one in an ever-growing community of First Nations scholars across the nation whose research brings spirit-centered, trauma, and critically informed family histories into official recognition. Through reflective life story writing, we are bringing to the discipline of history ideas of relational accountability, the idea that our relationships with all things, human and non-human, in our past, present, and future, are all connected.  And by locating these relationships, we can heal and reconcile our past for the betterment of our collective futures.

What do you most enjoy about your role?

I feel incredibly privileged to pursue my passion for teaching and research every day.  One of the greatest joys of my role is that I can engage with students on topics that are both personally significant to me and academically important to others. I share some of my Jaru, Kitja, and Yawuru cultural heritage and history, First Nations epistemologies, ontologies, and pedagogies, and the importance of ancestral knowledges for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Doing this work through connection with my own family, and our lived experiences, allows me to stay grounded, ensuring accountability and authenticity in my work. I am grateful for the opportunity to amplify Indigenous voices in this way.

Can you provide an overview of your background and expertise in your field of research?

My PhD research was intentionally deeply personal. By sharing my family’s history, I am now well-positioned to highlight the (publically already published) experiences of many First Nations families and, through mine and their stories, contribute to broader understandings of Indigenous realities. Titled Our Mabel. Our Voice: Through Life Story One Aboriginal Family Writes for Self-Love, Justice and Reconciliation, my PhD explored my journey as an adoptee who was reunited with family at the age of 24 years old.  At its core, my thesis is the story of my great-grandmother, Mabel Ita Eatts, a Stolen Generations survivor, who was forcibly removed from her family in Halls Creek, Western Australia, by police on horseback, in 1911, when she was just 4 years old. Over six years, I worked closely with my family to uncover 60 years of her life, piecing together her story through police, catholic mission, government and anthropological records, oral histories, and personal reflection.

This research not only deepened our understanding of our family’s history, it became an important path toward healing and empowerment. When you are able to access the stories of your ancestors, locate their achievements and also their wounds, opportunities arise for you to know yourself better than you could have ever imagined. You can heal and love yourself fully, become invincible, and what others think of you, becomes irrelevant. Experiencing this can be nothing short of a powerful generational and ancestral correction and life-changing transformation.

Who is someone that you admire or look up to?

I admire many individuals for their dedication to bringing meaningful change in their fields. Dr. Tracy Westerman AM, for instance, is the founder of The Westerman Jilya Institute for Indigenous Mental Health. She is trailblazing her way to building an army of First Nations psychologists. Stan Grant is a powerhouse with his contributions to journalism. In medical research, Professor Misty Jenkins AO leads the Brain Cancer Immunotherapy Lab at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute. Catherine Freeman continues her advocacy work, and Catherine Liddle, CEO of SNAICC, and Nerita Waight, CEO of the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service, play vital roles in Indigenous leadership. I could go on for days mentioning people's names.

I hold tremendous respect for the First Nations academic and general staff members we have at Monash University. It's not an easy gig, working for change within such an immensely large and Western-based institution like Monash.

Above all, I deeply admire Indigenous families who, every day and in all the ways they can, ensure our culture and connections to Country and Kin are maintained for future generations despite the systemic challenges that exist. I am fueled by them. In particular, I make sure I give voice to the ongoing removal of Indigenous children within the out-of-home care sector and the overrepresentation of Indigenous people in the juvenile and justice systems. I won't let their voices be silenced.

Are there any particular moments or experiences in your research career that have been particularly memorable or impactful?

A particularly memorable and impactful aspect of my research career has been teaching. While stepping into this role can be daunting, it is deeply rewarding to help students expand their perspectives. However, universities still have significant progress to make in supporting the inclusion of First Nations lived experiences in Australia. Despite always being surrounded by highly educated students and staff, in any room I walk into, there remains a profound lack of awareness about Indigenous history and culture. This reality can be difficult to navigate because in each moment I interact with staff and students,  I hold a great deal of responsibility to not only represent my discipline but also my family and community.  My work is particularly challenging also because I seek to challenge academia’s tendency to discourage personal engagement in research. Aboriginal people are continually working to reclaim and heal from history, and we often share with vulnerability from a spirit and heart-centered space. By encouraging students to explore their personal histories, I hope to encourage them to foster deeper understandings of their own family’s relationships through time and, through this process, drive meaningful generational change.